3 million child laborers in Philippines, says ILO survey


There are 3 million child laborers toiling in the Philippines and almost all of them are working in hazardous conditions, according to a survey financed by the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The 2011 Survey on Children conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and released Tuesday showed that out of the 29.019 million Filipino children aged 5-17 years old, about 18.9 percent or 5.59 million, were already working.
This is higher than the 4 million Filipino working children registered in a 2001 survey conducted by the ILO and the US Department of Labor.
Of those 5.59 million children at work, 3.028 million were considered as child laborers and 2.993 million were reported to be exposed to hazardous child labor.
“We’re surprised by this … We at the (labor department) reiterate our pledge to do our utmost in making every barangay in the country with high child labor incidence child labor-free,” Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said at the launching in Pasig City of a new campaign to stamp out child labor in the country.
“In carrying out this resolve, we will take it one barangay at a time. We will meet the challenge head-on,” she added.
Baldoz said the government had identified 609 of the country’s poorest municipalities and was targeting 80 barangays (villages) that had the highest incidence of child labor.
She also pointed out that the survey showed that 69.5 percent of child laborers, or 2.106 million, were attending school.
Under the law, child labor is defined as any work or economic activity performed by a child that subjects him or her to any form of exploitation, or is harmful to his or her health and safety, or physical, mental, or psycho-social development.